I collect stories, experiences, and observations that don't particularly have anything to do with the regular focus of this blog but feel inclined to post about them anyway whenever it seems like I have collected enough to put into a Non Sequitur post. Sometimes, it’s good to shake up the pattern.
First up: Amazon.
A couple of months ago I had to replace the drain motor in both the dishwasher and the clothes washer. The biggest pain about that was waiting for the parts to arrive. The parts were a must have and Amazon promised the fastest delivery. They made good on the promise. However, Amazon's algorithms seem sure I'm going to have to deal with drain motor replacements every three months.
Hardly a ringing endorsement for quality.
Amazon isn't so great with sponsorship, either. I've been studying cello for about 15 years and anyone who plays a stringed instrument knows it can be a devil of a chore to match strings to the instrument. I haven't had much luck with buying sets of strings (four, for cello). There is always one or two that don't quite work for the instrument. So I buy them separately. I need an "A" string, a "D" string, a "C" string, and a "G" string. Searching Amazon for "cello g string" apparently isn't quite specific enough.
Maybe this has something to do with the fact my browser is set to delete the cache every time I exit. Always good to keep the algorithms guessing.
Let's go back to busted things. This time, it's my phone. Barely a year old and I dropped it from about 12". Unfortunately, it hit on a corner and that cracked the screen in a way that made it very difficult to use. This even though it was in a “shock resistant” case. Not much of a shock and not much resistance.
Repair by a professional (read: some person of lesser age with the proper tools but not much experience) was going to cost the same as I paid for the phone (a Samsung Galaxy A11). Ack. A couple of YouTube videos and an order for parts later, I replaced the screen myself for a fraction of cost the commercial shop repair wanted.
What a pain. This is what it looked like after I removed it. I basically had to destroy the thing in order to get it out. Right to Repair should be in the Bill of Rights. I replaced the screen but the more common approach, with all electronics, is to buy new and trash the old. A few months later, the battery crapped out and I had to run the same drill again. How much damage are we doing to the planet with the accumulation of toxic garbage like this?
Ah, well. How about something fun? This is from last spring. According to my birder neighbors, these are Bushtits. They seemed intent in finding a way past the invisible barrier as they kept tapping on the glass.
That's it for this Non Sequitur. Now back to my regular programming...
Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash